Profile
A collection of canon and fan profiles of the Violet Vindicator throughout the years. "Batman: Secret Files and Origins" (1997) Text by Scott Beatty: Real name: Stephanie Brown Occupation: High School Student Base of Operations: Gotham Heights Marital Status: Single Height: 5'5" Weight: 110 lbs. Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde First Appearance: Detective Comics #647 (August 1992) Only Stephanie Brown knows exactly why she dons the purple and blue costume of the Spoiler to prowl the streets of Gotham Heights in search of adventure. Is it the rush of adrenaline? The thrill of teaming with the boy wonder Robin, for whom she does little to conceal a crush? Or perhaps in some small way to redress the sins of her father, Arthur Brown, the criminal Cluemaster? Whatever her reason, the Spoiler's activities as the unofficially sanctioned vigilante of Gotham's suburbs would certainly be called to question by Gotham's true guardian, the Batman himself, if he knew just how often Stephanie has rushed into the fray, either solo or alongside the Dark Knight's own apprentice. But it may be only a matter of time before the Spoiler realizes Robin's secret fear: that she might get in over her head and encounter a menace for which she lacks adequate training or technique to overcome. Above-average fighting and gymnastic skills "The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe" (October 2004) Text by Scott Beatty (p. 284): Spoiler First Appearance: Detective Comics #647 (August 1992) Status: Hero (deceased) Real name: Stephanie Brown Height: 5ft 5in Weight: 129 lbs Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde Occupation: High-school student; adventurer Base: Gotham City Special powers/abilities: Above-average combatant; utility bandoleer contains gas capsules, jumplines, and other equipment supplied by Robin III. A good girl with a bad father, teenager Stephanie Brown is the daughter of Arthur Brown, better known as the criminal Cluemaster. Stephanie created her own costumed alter ego, the Spoiler, in an attempt to "spoil" her father's lawbreaking schemes. But even after the Cluemaster was remanded again and again to Blackgate Penitentiary for rehabilitation, the Spoiler continued to patrol Gotham City, despite the admonitions of Batman and Robin III (Tim Drake). Against the Dark Knight's wishes, Tim Drake enabled Stephanie to operate as the Spoiler, often supplying her with necessary equipment. Friends at first, the pair soon became romantically linked. Later, Batman relented and began schooling Stephanie in crime-fighting skills, although her training was cut short when the Dark Knight's alter ego, Bruce Wayne, was accused of murdering journalist Vesper Fairchild. The Spoiler then apprenticed with the Black Canary II for a while. She remained an active heroine, usually in the company of her boyfriend, Robin. When Tim's father, Jack Drake, learned of his son's vigilante activities, Tim was forced to give up the mantle of Robin for a brief time. With Batman's sanction, Stephanie became the first female Robin during Tim's absence. Tragically, she was killed in action not long after returning to her role as the Spoiler. Girl wonder: Spoiler ignored Robin's warnings of the perils of crime fighting. Eventually, she replaced him as Batman's partner for a brief time. Absent father: When not spoiling his Cluemaster crime sprees, Stephanie showed Arthur Brown what she thought of his parenting skills! "The Essential Batman Encyclopedia" (June 2008) Text by Robert Greenberger (p. 330-331): SPOILER: Stephanie Brown was the daughter of Arthur Brown, the costumed criminal known as Cluemaster. He and his wife, Crystal, enjoyed a middle-class life until Arthur's television seri es was canceled. They then spiraled toward poverty until he adopted a costume and gimmicks to begin a crime spre e to provide for his family. He was not very successful and was repeatedly imprisoned, leaving Crystal to raise their daughter Stephanie mostly on her own. (Detective Comics #647, August 1992) As a child Stephanie was nearly raped by one of her babysitters. The man died from a drug overdose eight days later, and she grew up wondering if her father had anything to do with it. (Robin series #111. April 2003) She came to resent her loser of a father and his constant return to crime when it was clearly not something he was good at. In her mind the only way to stop him was through an intervention - although the approach she chose was unique. She designed and wore a purple cloaked outfit and showed up to interfere with his crimes as the Spoiler. With clues she left for the police, it was easy for Batman and Robin to apprehend him one more time, although Spoiler joined in the process. A curious thing happened, though: Stephanie came to enjoy the life of a costumed adventurer. Soon she was donning her outfit regularly to run the Gotham City rooftops alongside Robin, on whom she developed a crush. Her nascent crime-fighting career got derailed when she discovered she was pregnant, carrying the child she'd conceived with a fellow teen whose family had abandoned Gotham after its devastating earthquake. When she chose to carry the child to term and then give it up for adoption, Robin supported her, going so far as to create the civilian guise of Alvin Draper so he could take her to Lamaze classes. (Robin series #65, June 1999) Their time together ignited a romance that survived his being sent to study for a year at the nearby Brentwood Academy. As with most teen romances, they had their ups and downs, misunderstandings, and rounds of jealousy. It was all complicated by their crime-fighting careers, with Robin splitting his time at school with Batman, the Teen Titans, and finally with her. (Robin series #98, March 2002) Stephanie, though, was an untrained fighter who had more spirit than skill and no other friends in costume, until she and Batgirl began spending time together. Batgirl liked Stephanie a lot but protected her by frequently giving her a mild concussion to prevent her from endangering herself in critical situations. At one point, while Robin was out of town, Batman - who normally kept his distance from her - surprised Spoiler with an invitation to train together. He went farther, revealing Robin's real name to her, something Tim Drake had kept to himself. She also received training for a time from Black Canary as a favor to Oracle, a fellow Bird of Prey. That all came to an end when the Dark Knight determined that Spoiler did not have what it took for their dangerous careers and asked the Birds to end their help. Cluemaster never did give up his criminal ways. While he was in jail, he accepted a mission with the Suicide Squad, hoping to survive and earn parole. Instead, he was thought dead on the mission. Spoiler was angered upon learning the news. She distanced herself from Robin and we nt out into the city, seeking someone to hit. As a result, she brought down the Riddler and eventually reconciled with Tim. Stephanie continued to show more heart than skill, getting injured more than once, breaking her leg during a fight against Johnny Warlock. Undaunted, when she learned that Tim had hung up his cape at his father's insistence, she crafted her own Robin outfit and accessed the Batcave. She begged the Caped Crusader for a chance to be the fourth Teen Wonder. He agreed to train her and see if she could improve but warned her that if she disobeyed an order even once, she was through. For seventy-one days she trained hard and patrolled with Batman, absorbing more than she thought possible. In addition to her successes, she also did as he expected, saving his life by disobeying an order. When the mission was done, she was fired and banned from the Batcave. (Robin series #126-128 , July-September 2004) In shock and desperate to show what she was capable of, Stephanie accessed the Batcomputer, found one of Batman's myriad War Games plans,and activated it. The plan, though, hinged on Matches Malone being available to fill a power vacuum in Gotham's underworld. Stephanie was unaware at the time that Malone was an alias for Batman, so the plan pretty quickly derailed. During the gang war her actions ignited, she sought out Orpheus, the man Batman tapped to fill the gap created by Malone's absence. She was present when the agent was killed by Black Mask, who then captured and tortured Stephanie, Despite her pain, she wouldn't tell him anything and was eventually rescued by Catwoman. The feline took the dying girl to Dr. Leslie Thompkins for treatment but her injuries were too severe and she died, the Dark Knight at her side. (Batman #633, December 2004) In one account, Thompkins so disapproved of what had transpired that she allowed Spoiler to die, but the events of Infinite Crisis wiped that from reality. (52 #8, 2006) When Cassandra Cain, Batgirl, died at one point, she had a vision of Stephanie. Before she was revived by Lady Shiva, the ghost told Cassandra that not only was Lady Shiva Batgirl's birth mother, but super-villains had destroyed Bludhaven as well. (Batgirl #72-73, March-April 2006) "DC Comics Ultimate Character Guide" (July 2011) Text by Brandon Snider (p. 19): Batgirl: Daring Defender Although Stephanie Brown is the daughter of the villainous Cluemaster, she has not followed in his criminal footsteps. In fact, she has dedicated her life to stopping crime in all its forms as Batgirl. Trained by the Dark Knight himself, Batgirl uses an array of weapons to help protect Gotham City. Vital Stats: Real Name: Stephanie Brown Occupation: Hero Height: 5ft 5in Weight: 142 lbs Base: Gotham City Allies: Batman, Oracle Foes: Roxy Rocket, Clarion sic Like other members of the Batman family, she wears the bat-symbol on her costume. Batgirl's belt contains multiple supplies and gadgets. Powers: Batgirl has been trained in martial arts, acrobatics, and street fighting. Her suit in lined with Kevlar to protect her against fire and electric shocks. She also has an array of gadgets at her disposal, include a collapsible bo staff, grappling hook, and Batarangs similar to those used by Batman. Spoiler: In a previous heroic identity as the Spoiler, Stephanie often crossed paths with Tim Drake, now known as Red Robin. At first Tim felt Spoiler was a bit young and inexperienced, but the heroic pair soon developed a crush on one another. "Batman Character Encyclopedia" (February 2016) Text by Matthew K. Manning (p. 12): Spoiler Vital Stats: Real Name: Stephanie Brown Occupation: Hero, student Height: 5ft 5in Weight: 110 lbs Base: Gotham City Allies: Red Robin, Bluebird, Catwoman, Batman Foes: Cluemaster, Hush, Lincoln March Powers and Abilities: Skilled motorcyclist; smart mind and able to think quickly on her feet; skilled gymnast and fighter; protective suit equipped with offensive and defensive devices. Stephanie Brown's life changed drastically when she interrupted her father's "puzzle night" with his friends, only to learn he was the super-villain known as the Cluemaster. On the run from her parents, Stephanie soon discovered that her father was behind a scheme to destroy Batman. She fought against him, and adopted the identity of the costume Super Hero called the Spoiler. "No, Dad. You're done. I'm just getting started." Spoiler Alert: As a kid, Stephanie Brown liked to push the envelope and attempt extremely difficult bike stunts. So it wasn't much different for her to risk life and limb when she adopted the vigilante role of the Spoiler. After the Cluemaster was defeated, Spoiler still wanted to pursue a Super Hero lifestyle, and pleaded with Catwoman to train her. "DC Comics Encyclopedia All-New Edition" (October 2016) Text by Matthew K. Manning (p. 280): Spoiler Debut: Detective Comics (Vol. 1) #647 (Aug. 1992) Current Version: Batman (Vol. 2) #28 (Apr. 2014) Real Name: Stephanie Brown Base: Gotham City Height: 5ft 5in Weight: 110 lbs Eyes: Blue Hair: Blond Power/Abilities: Adept gymnast and fighter; fast on her feet with a matching quick wit; weapons include protective suit equipped with a myriad of offensive and defensive devices; skilled motorcyclist. Allies: Red Robin, Bluebird, Catwoman, Batman, the Batman Family Enemies: Cluemaster, Hush, Lincoln March Teenager Stephanie Brown knew that her father was a little weird, but she had no idea that he was spending his nights as the third-rate costumed super-villain Cluemaster. But when she unintentionally walked in on her father's meeting with a bunch of other minor super-villains, including Firefly, Lock-Up, and Signalman, Stephanie found herself running for her life, as even her mother was in on the conspiracy. Writing a blog called "Spoiler Alert" that told her story, Stephanie soon adopted the vigilante name of the Spoiler and a flamboyant purple costume, complete with a liminted arsenal of weapons. Playing a lone hand, she used biking skills she had picked up from a rough-and-tumble childhood full of daring stunts to lure Cluemaster into a trap, ultimately resulting in his arrest. Even after her father was seemingly killed by his devious and dangerous former associate - Lincoln March from the Court of Owls - the Spoiler opted to continue her Super Hero career, imploring Catwoman to train her in fighting techniques, and constantly popping up in Batman's life. To the victor... During a massive attack by the villain Mother, Spoiler helped protect Bluebird's brother, Cullen, and fight back against Mother with heroes including Red Robin and Midnighter. On the Record: Before the Flashpoint event, Stephanie Brown was the only character to serve as both Robin and Batgirl. She debuted in the pages of Detective Comics, but soon became romantically involved with Tim Drake in his Robin title. Having had a tumultuous life, including giving her baby up for adoption and troubles with her single mom, Spoiler eventually worked her way into Batman's good graces, briefly replacing Tim as Robin. Fired by the Dark Knight for not following his directions, she continued her crime-fighting career - with Barbara Gordon's blessing - adopting the name and costume of Batgirl. Hero by Proxy: As Batgirl, Stephanie fought crime on her college campus at Gotham University with the help of her own Oracle of sorts - computer expert Proxy. Thanks to a grant from Batman, Inc., Batgirl set up shop in her own Batcave-like hideout she called Firewall. On p. 30, as part of the Batman entry: Rebirth - Dark Knight Disciples: To reinforce his resources for protecting Gotham City while he's ferreting out the secret of Wally West's return from outside reality, Batman recalls Red Robin (Tim Drake) and Orphan (Cassandra Cain). He assigns them, alongside Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) and new recruit Basil "Clayface" Karlo, to his drill sergeant Kate (Batwoman) Kane, who will turn them into a unit capable of defending Gotham City when and if he cannot. With these disciples forming the core of a new, consolidated group, the Dark Knight hopes he can mold them into highly trained, battle-ready army to effectively counter the threat of a new covert force bringing military justice to his city. DC Universe Encyclopedia Entry (2018) INTRODUCTION Aliases: Stephanie Brown, Robin, Batgirl First Appearance: DETECTIVE COMICS #647, 1992 Seeing eye-to-eye with your parents can be a challenge for any teen, but when your father happens to be a Super-Villain in Gotham City? That’s a whole other level of awkward. Stephanie Brown’s father, Arthur Brown, spent most of Stephanie’s childhood in prison for crimes he committed as the Cluemaster—a second-rate version of the Riddler who could never quite make a name for himself. When he was finally released, claiming he’d been “rehabilitated,” he jumped right back into the Super-Villain game, with no regard for the safety or stability of his family. So Steph decided to take things into her own hands and “spoil” her father’s schemes. She crafted a Super Hero identity for herself, the Spoiler, and began working to sabotage Cluemaster behind his back, leaking info about his plans to Batman, Robin and even the Gotham City Police, intent on putting her father back behind bars for good. But what started as a mission became her passion: Stephanie fell in love with the Super Hero lifestyle and the people she met. Growing stronger as Spoiler became Steph’s number-one goal. Headstrong, outgoing and upbeat, Stephanie’s a bit of an outlier in Gotham City’s Super Hero community, but she’s quick to make friends and unwilling to take no for an answer. Her determination and stubbornness has proven both an asset and a detriment as she strives to make a name for herself. ORIGIN Stephanie began her life as a Super Hero with the goal of putting her father, Cluemaster, back in jail. She did her best to undermine his plans, improvising her way through life-threatening situations—a habit that caught the attention of Batman and Robin. Concerned for her safety, they urged her to leave crime-fighting behind. Stephanie, however, was anything but deterred. After shutting down the Cluemaster for good, she began working even harder as a Super Hero. She became close friends with Robin (Tim Drake), whom she had a crush on. The two developed an on-again-off-again relationship that culminated in Batman bringing her into the fold, inviting her into the Batcave and revealing his and Robin’s real identities to her. From that point on, Stephanie committed herself to her Super Hero lifestyle, briefly adopting the mantle of Robin, and later that of Batgirl, before returning to Spoiler full-time. POWERS AND ABILITIES Stephanie has no metahuman abilities and instead relies on her acrobatic skills and intelligence to survive in Gotham City. She’s a mostly self-taught martial artist, but her upbringing with Cluemaster taught her far-above-average problem-solving skills. Her weapon of choice is a bo staff, but she’s comfortable using any number of Batman’s gadgets, from Batarangs to the Batcomputer. ESSENTIAL STORYLINES AND HISTORY ENTER SPOILER (DETECTIVE COMICS #647, ROBINVOL. 4 #1-120, 1992-2004) Following her introduction in DETECTIVE COMICS#647(1992), Stephanie became a recurring character in ROBINas a love interest and sidekick for Tim Drake. Steph wasn’t shy about her infatuation with the Boy Wonder, and often tried to pressure him into revealing his true identity to her, as she continually showed up uninvited on his patrols around the city. Despite the constant rejection, Steph doubled down on her desire to become a Super Hero on par with Robin, intent on getting him to return her feelings. Eventually he began to see her as an equal—and despite his steady refusal to share his real identity, the two began a strictly in-costume romance as Spoiler and Robin, while Tim Drake continued to live a private life without Stephanie. But when Steph unexpectedly became pregnant with an ex-boyfriend’s child, Tim was forced to reevaluate his priorities and their relationship. Under an assumed identity, he helped Steph cope with her pregnancy. But before the baby could be born, Gotham City was rocked by a massive earthquake (BATMAN: CATACLYSM, 1998-1999), which caused it to be shut down and cut off from the outside world (BATMAN: NO MAN’S LAND,1999). These events resulted in Tim and his family moving to Keystone City, leaving Stephanie behind. Stephanie put the baby up for adoption after it was born (ROBINvol. 4 #65, 1999) and continued to operate in Gotham City until the No Man’s Land restrictions were removed and things returned to relative normalcy. Batman took notice of Stephanie’s tenacity, as well as her relationship with Tim. Shortly after the Drake family’s return to Gotham, Batman told Steph that Robin was Tim Drake (ROBIN vol. 4 #87, 2001) and offered to train her alongside the Birds of Prey. The violation of trust caused a rift between Tim and Stephanie, as well as between Tim and Batman. Stephanie trained for a brief time before Batman decided she was too impulsive and “fired” her, requesting she stop being Spoiler altogether. But she decided to continue operating as Spoiler in secret. During this time, she and Tim finally reconciled and for the first time began a relationship in their civilian identities. ROBIN, DEATH AND RETURN (BATMAN: WAR GAMES, ROBINVOL. 4,2004-2009) When Tim Drake’s father discovered he’d been acting as Robin, he forced his son to quit the Super Hero business altogether, leaving Batman without a partner. Stephanie jumped at the opportunity. Despite her and Bruce’s rough history, he begrudgingly agreed to take her on as Robin (ROBINvol. 4 #124-126, 2004). Steph’s tenure as the Girl Wonder, however, was short-lived. Bruce fired her yet again for disobeying direct orders in the field. Furious and desperate to prove herself, Steph then stole a contingency plan from the Batcomputer in a desperate bid to concoct a scenario in which she could be a hero—not realizing the plan was designed to create a power vacuum in the underworld of Gotham City. The catastrophic BATMAN: WAR GAMES(2004) was the result. Through WAR GAMES, a new criminal kingpin arose in Gotham: the Black Mask. As Black Mask solidified his position, he caught Spoiler and tortured her for information on Batman. She refused to break, and Batman soon found Stephanie and brought her to a hospital, but she died from her wounds. Or so it was believed. It was later revealed (in ROBIN vol. 4 #174,2008) that Stephanie’s death had been a cover-up orchestrated by Dr. Leslie Thompkins to keep Stephanie and her family safe after the events of WAR GAMES. She’d since been living under an alias in Africa, but was unable to fight the urge to return to being a full-time Super Hero. She returned to Gotham to take up the mantle of Spoiler. BATGIRL (BATGIRLVOL. 3, 2009-2011) Following the massive shake-up in the wake of Bruce Wayne’s “death” (FINAL CRISIS, 2008-2009) and the resulting BATTLE FOR THE COWL(2009), Stephanie found herself taking on a new role in Gotham City. When the second Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, gave up her mantle, Stephanie stepped in and became the third Batgirl. She worked closely with Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl. She maintained her new role until the events of FLASHPOINT(2011) rebooted the continuity of the DC universe. THE NEW 52 (2011-2016) Stephanie made her first appearance in the New 52 continuity in the BATMAN ETERNALevent (2014), in which she was reintroduced as Spoiler. Most of her original backstory remained, but her time spent as Robin and Batgirl was removed. REBIRTH (2016-PRESENT) Following DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH#1 (2016), Stephanie joined a team of Gotham-based heroes in REBIRTH: DETECTIVE COMICS. She, Red Robin, Orphan, Batwing and Clayface were mentored by Batman and Batwoman to be the city’s next generation of Super Heroes. During this time, she and Tim Drake rekindled their romance from the pre-FLASHPOINT continuity. Archival profile Written by wikia creator Nevermore999, from December 2007-December 2010: Warning: This profile contains spoilers for recent events. No pun intended. Name: Stephanie Brown Aliases: Spoiler, Robin IV, Batgirl III, "Fay Wray" Nicknames: Steph, Stephie, Girl Wonder Status: Active Marital status: Single Parents: Arthur Brown (A.K.A. The Cluemaster); Crystal Brown (A.K.A. Agnes Bellinger) Offspring: One baby girl, name unknown Other family members: Dave Bellinger (maternal uncle) Age: Currently around 19. Place of Birth: Most likely Gotham City, or the suburbs surrounding it. Occupation: College student; vigilante Height: 5'5 Weight:'''110 lbs '''Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Abilities/Powers: Stephanie is armed only with her martial arts and gymnastic skills. Robin gave her weapons such as smoke bombs to use when he could, and later when she got friendlier with Batman (Starting issue 84) she was able to secure the whole Bat-arsenal, including a Kevlar costume. She received erratic training under Robin III, Batgirl II, Oracle, Black Canary and Batman. She possessed technology that lets her turn invisible, but she abandoned or lost it when she took up the Batgirl identity. Associates: -Tim Drake (Boyfriend; friend/ex- boyfriend; crime-fighting partner ) -Cassandra Cain (Best friend; crime-fighting partner) -Bruce Wayne (Mentor) -Barbara Gordon (Mentor) -Dinah Lance (Mentor) -Dr. Leslie Thompkins (close friend, caretaker for a year) -Alfred Pennyworth (Acquaintance) -Helena Bertinelli (Occasional crime-fighting partner) -Connor Hawke (Acquaintance, one time crimefighting partner) -Selina Kyle (friend, fellow vigilante) -Dean (last name unknown)(Ex boyfriend; father of her daughter) -Kara Zor-El (Friend, crime-fighting partner) Previous affiliations: -Bat Clan -Birds of Prey -Young Justice -Teen Titans Intellect/personality: -High school education -Average intelligence Skills: Very skilled in gymnastics and martial arts. Trademark move is a roundhouse right cross. Member of school gymnastics team. Has also shown a talent for sewing, both costumes and backpack holsters. Skilled at handling a motorcycle, grappling hook and various gadgets. Has some minor training in various forensics and detective skills. (Former) member of girls softball league, shown to have good aim, throwing skills and handling of clubs as a result. Knows CPR and how to dress a wound (including bullet wounds) and other minor medical techniques. Stephanie now has a complete high school education, and is attending college. Can read lips. Strengths: Brave and resourceful; high tolerance for pain; optimist who refuses to give up, compassionate, good at thinking on her feet, very quick learner, has a knack for stealth. Weaknesses: Impulsive (prone to leaping before looking, knee-jerk reactions and questionable decisions); emotional (this encompasses a bad temper along with making things too personal), low self confidence and self image and her fighting skills are not as refined as other members of the Bat Family, leading to some clumsy mistakes. Personality traits: Optimistic; sarcastic; angry; talkative; stubborn. Motivations: Making the world safe for young girls like herself; proving she is not like her father; making up for her father's criminal acts; romantic involvement with Robin; want of Batman's approval Fears: Failure; becoming like her father. Important events in her history: -Stopping her fathers first heist as Spoiler (Detective Comics 647--649) -Stopping her fathers second heist and receiving a kiss from Robin (Robin 3-5) -Becoming Tim's girlfriend (Robin (56)) -First team up with Batgirl (Batgirl(20)) -Discovering her pregnancy (Robin (57)) -Having her baby and giving it up for adoption (Robin (65)) -Meeting Dinah Lance and becoming her apprentice (Robin 80 Page Giant) -Training with Batgirl (Batgirl (28)) -Discovering Tim's true identity and becoming apprentice to Batman (Robin (84)) -Becoming Robin in an alternate reality in "World Without Young Justice" (Robin (102)) -Her father's "death" (Robin (109)) -Batman tells her to stop being Spoiler (Gotham Knights (37)) -Becoming Robin IV (Robin (126)) -Teaming up with Batgirl as Robin (Batgirl (53)) -Fired by Batman (Robin (128)) -Her death (War Games-Batman (633)) -Saves Batgirl's life as a ghost (Batgirl (62)) -More near death experiences with Steph for Cass! (Batgirl 72-73) -Person dressed in a Spoiler costume makes an appearance after Stephanie's death (Gotham Underground (2)) -Tim is reminded of Stephanie when he meets rogue vigilante "Violet" in her purple costume, mentions Stephanie's lack of memorial, and believes he sees Stephanie in the hall at his high school (Robin (170)) -Spoiler unmasks and reveals herself to be Stephanie (Robin (172)) -Spoiler finally talks to Tim to warn him he's been led into a trap. Enraged and believing her to be an impersonator of his dead loved one, he attacks her, only letting up slightly when she says his real name. Before she can reveal who she is though, they are interrupted by Sin Fang. (Robin (173)) -Spoiler reveals herself to both Robin and Batman as Stephanie Brown, and is welcomed back into the Bat Family. She has apparently also finally learned Batman's true identity as Bruce Wayne. She reunites with her mother as well. Robin (174) -Spoiler teams up with Tim again for the first time since her absence, and a story about her time in Africa is told. (Robin/Spoiler Special) -Stephanie accompanies Tim to Titans Tower, and gets to interact with several of the Titans. (Teen Titans (third series)(66) -Stephanie decides to keep being Spoiler, despite the fact Tim wishes her not to. The two of them reach an agreement, and Stephanie reveals she has managed to procure technology that lets her turn invisible when she wants to. (GOTHAM GAZETTE: BATMAN ALIVE?) -Stephanie becomes Batgirl (Batgirl (third series) (1)) -Stephanie receives Barbara's vow of support and guidance in her new role as Batgirl and gets her own Batgirl costume. (Batgirl (third series) (3)) -Stephanie has her first team up with Supergirl and the two become friends. (World's Finest (3)) -Stephanie saves Batman and is accepted as Batgirl by Batman and Robin. (Batgirl (third series) (7)) -Stephanie teams up and reconciles with Tim. He tells her he's proud of her and they go to save those she loves. (Batgirl (third series) (8) - Red Robin (10)) -Stephanie teams up with Wonder Woman and several other superheroines to rescue a senator! (Wonder Woman (600) -Stephanie saves the city and rescues her mentor Barbara from the Calculator Batgirl (third series) (12) -Stephanie passes a test thrust upon her by a recently-returned Bruce. When she finds out, she tells Bruce off for always manipulating her and treating her like a tool, and even slaps him in the face. Bruce gives his approval for Steph being Batgirl, and even say privately that he thinks she's grown into a capable crimefighter. Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl (1) History Stephanie Brown was an athletic blonde teenage girl who took gymnastics and excelled. Her father was in and out of jail and her mother was overworked and addicted to pharmaceuticals. Due to her father's villainous exploits and her mother's low paying job as a nurse, the family was constantly strapped for cash. Stephanie Brown first came on the scene as a vigilante to "spoil" the crimes of her villainous father, the Cluemaster. Though Arthur Brown has been cured of his clue dropping psychosis, Stephanie decided to leave clues for him so the authorities could foil his plans. Tim Drake, Robin III, saw Spoiler in the act and believed her to be working with Brown. He chased her down and unmasked her, only to receive a brick to the face. He figured out Stephanie's identity and recruited her to help his and Batman's own vendetta against Arthur Brown. Stephanie jumped in to save Batman from her father and the Cluemaster threatened her with sulfuric acid. In order to save Stephanie, Batman revealed Steph's secret identity as daughter to Brown, who was shocked to unmask her and confirm she was his daughter. Stephanie then quickly took her father down and was on the verge of choking him to death when Batman talked her out of it. When her father escaped from jail again, Stephanie returned as the Spoiler and teamed up with Tim Drake to stop him. She succeeded and saved Tim's life and he was so grateful he kissed her. This got Stephanie interested in a romantic relationship with the Boy Wonder, much to Tim's chagrin, and she decided to continue being a vigilante. After many encounters, Tim was finally forced to admit he was attracted to Stephanie. He asked her to be his girlfriend, but warned her because of his promise to Batman he couldn't tell her his real name. Stephanie agreed. Soon after, Stephanie discovered she was pregnant, a product of a fling she'd had with a boy named Dean. Tim took her to Lamaze classes in his fake "Alvin Draper" identity and despite having been relocated to Keystone, made it to the hospital in Gotham to help her have it. Though initially hesitant, Stephanie agreed to give up her baby for adoption after having a dream where her father took her baby from her. Tim moved back closer to Gotham and lived at Brentwood Academy, an all boys boarding school. His and Stephanie's relationship grew strained as she grew more upset she didn't know his secret identity. She began following him around in an attempt to find out where he lived, one of these attempts ending disastorously when she was confronted by Secret, a teammate of Tim's from Young Justice who nursed a crush on the Boy Wonder and was insanely jealous. Spoiler mostly acted in self defense, and though she got some shots in, the powerful Secret gained the upper hand, and Tim and YJ Mentor Red Tornado intervened before things got ugly. The girls were made to apologize to each other. (Spoiler later helped Young Justice out along with other teen heroes, and was abducted once by a crazed Secret much later on. She was released with no memory of what happened along with Greta's other abductees when Tim talked sense into Greta.) The tension between Tim and Steph did not stop, though. After they saved a girl Tim admitted to knowing, Stephanie suspected Tim of cheating on her and refused to speak to him. But, while Tim was away on a mission with Lagoon Boy and forgot to check in with Batman, the Dark Knight approached Stephanie, told her Tim's real name and asked her to go check on him. Tim was infuriated with Batman for giving away his secret when Tim had worked so hard to protect it for Bruce's own sake,and had never revealed Batman's secret identity. He went away to clear his head and Batman decided to train Stephanie. Stephanie also gained a mentor in Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, and worked with the Birds of Prey for a while. During this time, Stephanie developed a close friendship with the second Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. Cassandra trained Stephanie and enjoyed her company and the two bonded over father issues. Tim came back, and not blaming Stephanie for what had happened, resumed his relationship with her. Meanwhile, Stephanie found herself shut out of the cave while Bruce Wayne was on the run from the cops for a murder he had been framed for. Stephanie went to talk to Batman about being shut out and Batman abruptly told her she didn't have the skills or the talent. When Steph protested, Batman sent her on a mission to capture a Kobra Cult leader to test her to see if she could figure out he had already taken care of the mission. She didn't, and he fired her. Stephanie's world was rocked once more when she learned that her father had not only died, but done so while doing a mission saving people for the Suicide Squad for no reward whatsoever. Stephanie took a short break from crime fighting after this and she was let go from the Birds of Prey, but soon resumed her Spoiler identity. When Tim's father found out about his dual life, Tim was forced to quit being Robin. Stephanie, angered with Tim when she thought she saw him kissing another girl and determined to prove herself to Batman, made her own Robin costume, broke into the Batcave and declared to Batman she was the new Robin. Batman accepted, though Alfred suspected this might be a ruse to get Tim back on the job. Stephanie served briefly as Robin, teaming up with her best friend Batgirl and even defeating Zsasz, but after she disobeyed orders from Batman and tried to save him from the assassin Scarab and got captured while doing so, he fired her and forbade her from even being Spoiler. Hurt and determined to prove herself, Stephanie used files from the Batcave's computer and decided to use one of his plans to wipe out Gotham's gangs. She was not aware that the "Matches Malone" required to be present was one of Batman's alternate identities, as he did not tell her. She accidentally started a gang war, and was captured by Black Mask, who tortured her for information. She eventually escaped, and beat Black Mask down. He grabbed a gun, which she yanked out of his hand. She decided not to use it so as not to betray Batman, and Black Mask shot her. She managed to get out and up to the rooftops despite her injuries. Batman found her and took her to the hospital. She apparently died there, first asking "Was I really Robin?" to which Batman replied "Of course you were." Batman discovered in the "War Crimes" series that the Cluemaster was still alive and repentant for his crimes upon learning of his daughter's death. He was also angry at Batman and released information on Stephanie to the public, but pointed Batman towards Dr. Leslie Thompkins as Stephanie's killer. It was seemingly revealed the the long time good-Samaritan and pacifist Dr. Leslie Thompkins let Stephanie die from lack of medical treatment in an attempt to dissuade Batman from taking on sidekicks. Stephanie appeared twice to Cassandra Cain in near death experiences, once Stephanie urged her friend to fight for her life and the second time told her of how Bludhaven would be bombed. Much later, a mysterious figure in a Spoiler costume worked for the the Penguin in order to betray him in his attempts to control the Gotham Underground. She beat up Tim and bombed Barbara's computers while doing this undercover work, but the heroes never discovered her true identity. Meanwhile, Tim thought he saw Stephanie in the halls of his school, recognizing the way she walked. Before he could catch up to her, however, she disappeared. Then he thought he saw her scaling the rooftops in her Spoiler costume. Once again, he caught up to her, only to find nothing once more. At last Spoiler was seen watching Robin. Though he did not see her, she said "Good night, Tim," wistfully in his direction and unmasked, revealing herself to be Stephanie. Later, Spoiler actually confronted Tim, trying to warn him that he and the criminal Violet have been led into a trap.Tim believed this to be someone impersonating Stephanie and was enraged. As he screamed at her about desecrating the memory of someone he loved, Spoiler, not fighting back, ducked a kick and then was pinned to the wall by the throat. Tim grabbed at her mask and she finally said "Please, don't do this...Tim..." and as Tim reacted in surprise, they were interrupted by Sin Fang blowing a hole in the wall and announcing it would be his privilege to kill them both. Spoiler and Tim escaped Sin Fang, but Tim left a tracer on her. He and Batman tracked her down to an apartment. Angrily, Spoiler took off her mask, revealing herself to be Stephanie Brown, indeed. Tim rushed her and kissed her, lifting her into the air. Stephanie told him to slow down, and Batman explained that he always suspected she was alive, and that's why she didn't have a memorial. Batman welcomed Stephanie back into the "Bat family" and they took her to the cave, where after greeting a shocked Alfred, she explained that Leslie Thompkins faked her death, and that the body buried was someone else's, but she felt like she was running away and had to go back to Gotham. In addition, Batman at long last has seemed to reveal his identity as Bruce Wayne to her. Tim took her to see her Mom at the hospital, and understandably seemed a little put out by both Bruce and Steph's deception of him. The Robin/Spoiler Special had Tim and Steph heal a few wounds by busting open a kidnapping ring together (though the status of their relationship remained uncertain) and introduced the friends Steph has been hanging around with, a rather punk, but nice, crowd that liked to party in abandoned subway stations. It also revealed that Stephanie decided to go back to Gotham and be Spoiler after saving a small African village from the gun wielding fanatic Katavi, and rushing Leslie to the hospital for a gunshot wound. The strain between Tim and Stephanie got worse when Batman disappeared, apparently insane. Earlier, Batman had asked Stephanie to keep Tim away from the situation, which caused Stephanie to delete a picture of Batman going crazy Tim was looking for from a thug's cell phone. When Tim found out, the dynamic between the two became even more tense. However, Tim begged Stephanie to come with him to Titans Tower to give him moral support when he quit the Teen Titans due to his responsibilities in Gotham. Stephanie complied, and got to interact with a few team members, including Tim's ex Cassandra Sandsmark, Traci Thirteen and the explosive Amy Allen, before she left in the Bat-Plane with Tim. After this, Stephanie came up with a plan to protect Tim and rebuild Gotham. It involved hiring Scarab with money Tim had given The Penguin earlier in exchange for information on Batman. Scarab used non-lethal weapons to break up rioting cops, causing trouble under Steph's orders. Steph tried to enlist The General to help her as well, but the villain shot at her instead. Stephanie skillfully dodged the kill shot, but caught the bullet in the shoulder. However, she punched the General and escaped. She found Scarab had been paid more money by the mysterious Red Robin and was now on a contract to kill Tim, but she tackled Scarab and saved Tim's life. Eventually Tim grabbed the injured Stephanie and used a low grade version of the Scarab's fear gas to disperse the crowd. Stephanie was not sure what to think of these extreme methods, and revealed to the readers her plan to "make Robin better" by hiring villains was under Batman's orders. But she wondered if making Tim a better Robin would make him a worse person. Red Robin was revealed to be The General and he let Tim know Stephanie has been to see him. Tim then realized the General had to be the one who shot Steph and began to get suspicious about her secrecy. Going back to The General's warehouse to investigate, Tim was seriously injured in an explosion from a bomb the General, now posing as Anarky, left. Stephanie vowed to make things right right. Stephanie stumbled upon the Gotham Gangs trying to make a truce. However, Lynx II was having none of it. Stephanie came in and handily defeated Lynx with some pizza pallets. The meeting erupted into fighting, and Stephanie wondered if it was partly her fault. The fight was interrupted by Anarky outside. Everyone ran out, and Anarky, who had planted a bomb three hours ago, detonated it. Spoiler and several others were thrown by the blast. Tim arrived to fight Anarky. While the two boys fought,it was up to Stephanie to calm down the gangs and get them to help with the chaos. With the help of the Gotham cops, she succeeded. After it all went down, Steph and Tim met. Stephanie tearfully realized Tim knew about her deception, and Tim angrily confirmed he found security tapes of her hiring the Scarab. Steph explained that Batman had ordered her to make him sweat, in order to make him a better Robin. Tim yelled at her, telling her he knows she's been under a lot of pressure, and that he loves her, and that's why he can't have "Spoiler" screwing up anymore. He then said "Don't ever let me catch you in that costume again" and jumped off the roof. Stephanie tried not being Spoiler, but couldn't help herself when she saw Nocturna committing a burglary, and she surreptitiously stopped her. This made her realize she couldn't stop being Spoiler no matter what Tim said. Later, as Spoiler, she was watching Tim, Babs, Dick and Leslie attend a high society ball, when she saw Nocturna attempting to rob it. She handily stopped the crook, demonstrating her new ability to turn invisible. Afterwards, she met up with Tim and he asked if she stole the tech to make herself invisible to get around his ultimatum. (The writer of the new Batgirl has confirmed she won't be using this invisibility tech again, leaving it with her Spoiler identity.) She responded that he had too much ego and he didn't own her. He agreed, and apologized for being too harsh earlier, but told her he still didn't think crime fighting was her path. He also told her he was leaving, and for her not to get hurt while he was gone. She grappled away, telling him she didn't want to get hurt either, but she might, as that was part of the life they chosen to lead. In the wake of Tim's absence and Batman's death, Stephanie decided to give herself a fresh start and apply for college. However, she has a hard time resisting being Spoiler. She teamed up to fight again with her best friend Cassandra, but is thrown a curveball when Cass, clearly lost after the death of Bruce Wayne, takes off her Batgirl costume and says she doesn't want to fight anymore. She told Stephanie the fight was hers now and vanished, leaving the Batgirl costume and identity in the care of her best friend. Stephanie still had doubts about her status as a crimefighter, but couldn't resist the Batgirl costume. Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, the new Batman and Robin, saw Steph out fighting and recognized she was not Cassandra. Dick informed Barbara Gordon, the first Batgirl and current cyberhero Oracle, of this development. With her Mom under the impression she has stopped being a vigilante and her first day of college over with, Stephanie continued as Batgirl and went to stop a riot. There she met Gotham's newest cop,Nick Gage, and saved him from the men holding him hostage. However, since there was a bad explosion under her watch that could have had serious consequences, Steph considered the night to be a disaster, and once again declared this was her last night crime fighting. But seconds later, she contradicted this by glancing at her damaged Batgirl costume and wondering about a sewing class. But when she walked into the kitchen that morning, she found the unwelcome sight of a sinister looking Barbara Gordon, saying that the two of them needed to talk. Barbara let Stephanie know she disapproved of her being Batgirl and didn't think she was up to the task. Stephanie didn't take well to it and continued her crusade in the damaged costume. She made a few enemies and friends at Gotham University, attracting the spite of a girl name Jordanna when she argued with her in philosophy class, and the interest of Jordanna's guy-friend Francisco. Stephanie also found out a gang was spiking the punch with dangerous aggression-fueling drugs at the Gotham Harvest festival, but Oracle contacted Stephanie through Cassandra's mask and told her not to pursue the gang. Back at the Batcave, Oracle told Stephanie she was to stay out of pursuing the dealers and threatened to call her mother if she continued being Batgirl. Stephanie was not deterred, and continued pursuing the lead. She found out the Scarecrow was behind the distribution and went to stop him. Because her inoculation was out of date, she succumbed to his fear gas and hallucinated both Tim and herself as Spoiler telling her that she was worthless and that she already failed the save the city once, so she should just lay down and die. About to succumb, Stephanie remembered that she had a choice about who she wanted to be and was especially heartened when Barbara motivated her by finally calling her Batgirl in her worried shouts. She snapped back to life, twisting the Scarecrow's ankle before he could kill her and told the villain that she came back for a second chance and that she wasn't afraid to face herself. She knocked him out and proclaimed herself Batgirl. Finally, Babs agreed she was worthy of the title. Babs held an oath in the Batcave, swearing to Steph to guide and support her. Steph responded that she also had Barbara's back. Barbara took a position as an assistant in computer science at Steph's university and also supplied her with a new costume. Stephanie now stalks the streets of Gotham as the official Batgirl with the aid and guidance of Oracle! On her first "official" night out, Stephanie did a field test in her brand new suit and stopped some robbers, getting the praise and admiration of a young girl as a result. She was bemused at actually getting "positive reinforcement for the hero gig" for once. She also faced Superman baddie Livewire. She dampened Livewire's electrical powers by kicking a fire hydrant jetstream onto her. Livewire tried to shock her, and they both found out that Babs had insulated Stephanie's suit. Unharmed, Steph knocked the villain out and enjoyed a moment of quiet with Babs after the night's work was done. Steph's first night as Batgirl was an overall sucess. Stephanie even made the superhero The Web take responsibility for his actions and work with the Justice League, with Oracle's help. She helps him install software that helps him track down a murderer...and allows Barbara to keep a cybernetic eye on the reckless new hero. Her first team up with the new Batman and Robin was less successful. She managed to put out a fire and save Robin from catching fire himself, but in the process she also froze Damian with her ice batarang. After Dick expressed a hearty dissaproval, Stephanie decided to take the night off. She went back to the job she had taken sorting books in the library to pay for her college, and overheard that Francisco was in some trouble thanks to his dad's shady activities. She went up to Francisco to try to get information out of him, and ended up realizing her attraction to him. She was thrilled when he asked her out on a date, and less thrilled when she found Damian had taken to following her around in order to figure out "what use" she was to anyone. Stephanie was patrolling the skies when she spotted Francisco in distress. She changed into what clothes were available to talk to him, only they were promptly attacked by a truck full of masked men. Stephanie set about to beating up the thugs, but she was grazed on the head by a bullet and the men made away with Francisco. Stephanie gave a false name to the ambulance drivers, and Oracle crashed the ambulance so that she (Steph) could make her escape. Steph went to eavesdrop on Batman and the Commissioner, but was pounced upon by Damian. The two got into a spat that Batman broke up, and he sent them both into "time out". Stephanie finally let loose at Damian, telling him that Bruce trusted her to work alone, which is more than he ever did for his son. She then declared that they couldn't wait around to screw up, and they went to play "bad cop, worse cop" and interrogate Jordanna about Francisco's whereabouts. It turned out Francisco was bait that Roulette was using to lure Batman to his doom where he would face three villians- and now Steph and Damian had to rescue the caped Crusader! Damian tried to ditch Stephanie, but she followed in her brand new Bat-pod designed by Oracle. She and the runt agreed to rescue Batman together, and Stephanie did her part by taking out Roxy Rocket and crashing her into Dr. Phosphorus. Batman told her she had done good work before she rushed off to help Damian take down Riot. The three heroes also shut down Roulette. Dick told Barbara that Stephanie reminded him of her before she was shot, and Oracle told Dick that Stephanie needed this and so did she. Dick and Damian finally accepted Stephanie. Stephanie soon had her first team up with Supergirl. The two struck up an easy friendship, bonding over quips and the fact they had both been trained by Batman and both missed him a lot. They went up against the Toyman and Mr. Freeze to rescue the captive Kryptonite Man. They did a good job dispatching Toyman's robots, and Stephanie dispatched Mr. Freeze herself. However, Toyman overwhelmed them when he unleashed a gigantic composite Superman/Batman robot. Stephanie managed to call in a code black (which meant threat of the highest caliber) to Oracle, and Babs called in Superman and Batman. The two heroes soon came to the rescue. Dick made the robot drop Stephanie and Damian rescued her before she could splatter all over the ground, but while doing so he made a snide remark about her weight and called her "Fatgirl". She and Damian took out Toyman, destroying his remote control. But it turned out Toyman was only a robot. However, Supergirl was rescued and the day was saved. Supergirl even chastised Damian for insulting her new friend, picking him off the ground by his cape and telling him he "shouldn't call girls fat! You shouldn't call anyone fat!" while Stephanie looked on with her arms crossed. After this, Tim returned to Gotham, having finally dug himself out of his depression because he'd discovered Bruce Wayne was not dead, but lost in time. However, he got a nasty call from Ra's Al Ghul, who decided to take his revenge on Tim for the Boy Wonder's actions against the League of Assassins. Ra's told Tim that he was going to have everything Bruce ever loved or built destroyed. Tim sped off to the Batcave, thinking that there's no one's help he wouldn't take. But he ran into someone he didn't take into account in the cave. Stephanie was practicing with her combat droids when she was surprised by Tim. Tim was initially as dismissive and angry with her as ever, and Stephanie snapped at him not to take such a tone with her. But they were interrupted by a signal that Leslie Thompkins was being targeted by Ra's. Stephanie rushed after Tim, and when he saw just how many assassins Ra's sent to get Leslie, he had to admit reluctantly that he needed Stephanie's help. Steph hid Leslie and then the two heroes teamed up "just like old times" to take down the assassins. Stephanie got so caught up by Tim's presence that she accidentally punched him in the face at the end of the fight. Tim was impressed by her hook and reminded of their first meeting when Stephanie hit him in the face with a brick. Steph was flattered that he remembered. Up on the roof, Tim told Stephanie he was proud of her. They almost kissed, but Steph cut it off, saying it wasn't good for her now. They are interrupted by Tim's assassin friend, Prudence, who claims Ra's Al Ghul sent her to kill Stephanie. She pointed a gun at Stephanie and Tim panicked, knowing he couldn't save her in time. Any saving was rendered unnecessary though, as Stephanie kicked the gun out of Prudence's hand and beat her to a pulp. Tim is stunned to see her take down a League of Assassins member like that. However, Prudence didn't load her gun, and was merely trying to scare Stephanie. When Steph found out Tim has led the League, she ripped into him, demanding an explanation for his aggressive actions toward her, his lack of trust toward his family, and his hypocrisy in not trusting her when he was the one working with criminals. Tim said she was right, and they had both made mistakes, and offered his hand, asking her to help save the people they love. Steph accepted. At Tim's base, a bomb went off. Stephanie, Tim and Prudence were saved thanks to Tim's booby trap, but soon they were confronted with a whole range of assassins! Fortunately, Stephanie had a plan. She handily fought the assassins alongside Tim for seven minutes. Just as everything fell apart, her Richocet arrived and provided escape while knocking thugs out of the way. Steph went to make sure Barbara wasn't being attacked while Tim attended to interrogation of Ra's thugs. When she arrived at Wayne Manor, she found both Tam Fox and Vicki Vale being attacked by ninjas. She saved Vicki from being killed and reported this to Tim. Tim beat Ra's bt was injured in the process and Steph was there to greet him when he got back to the Batcave. After all this, Stephanie went back to work in Gotham. After easily dispatching someone trying to bomb the Gotham bus, she earned some praise from James Gordon himself. Elated, she went over to see Barbara and met Wendy Harris. Babs informed Steph of Wendy's supervillianous parentage and bitterness as they set up a new base under Babs apartment building. Steph went to handle a robbery and found Nick Gage being attacked by a security guard who had been brainwashed by the Calculator. After she dispatched the brainwashed man, he threw himself out the window. Steph risked her life to save him, but he slipped off the rope (after being remotely killed by Calculator, but Steph is unaware of this) leaving Batgirl wracked with anger and guilt. Oracle informed Steph the Calculator was behind this plot, and he was determined to get revenge on Babs for taking Wendy away from him. Oracle cut Steph off from communication, saying they should maintain radio silence so Calculator wouldn't get to Batgirl trying to get to her. However, when Calculator sent out a signal brainwashing people to attack Barbara Gordon, Steph came to her rescue. But the crowd overwhelmed the two women and the "techno-zombies" captured Barbara and froze her in some sort of silver shell. Steph tried to rescue her, but a brainwashed Huntress, Catwoman and Man-Bat leaped down from the sky to stop her! Steph managed to take down Catwoman, but had a little more trouble with Huntress. Mid-fight, she was contacted by Wendy. Steph informed Wendy the Calculator was causing all the problems as she managed to lose Huntress. She then faced Man-Bat, but managed to ride him to the safety of a nearby airport, where Wendy came to aid her. Wendy located where Oracle had been taken and piloted Steph to the location in the T-Jet. Determined to save Babs, Steph sky-dived out the T-Jet to crash into Calculator's base. Steph managed to infiltrate the base. Steph set off a failsafe though, triggering termination of all the people transformed into drones in Gotham City. With a well timed grappling shot, Steph stopped the termination. Then a giant robot attacked as a second failsafe. Wendy took care of this one by crashing into it with her jet. The two girls freed Oracle, and Wendy shut down Calculator's brain. Steph talked to Wendy later, offering to help her forget her past and have a second chance. So things returned to normal for Gotham, with Steph chasing down goofy villians like the Blimpmaster- only now she had a new computer hacking helper in Wendy, who decided to go by "Proxy". Steph got to join with the big leagues when a the white house was attacked by Professor Ivo's sinister Cyber-Sirens! Steph and several other heroines were asked by none other than Wonder Woman to save the day. So Steph teamed up with the Amazing Amazon and other heroes and together they successfully rescued a hapless congressman from robots! In her second semester at Gotham University, Steph was playing ping-pong against another student when she was contacted by Wendy, who alerted Stephanie that a man was being chased downtown- the Financial District- in suspicion of murdering his wife. the man was actually Clayface , who shoved Nick Gage off the side of a building, right as Batgirl swooped in to save him. Clayface tried to rob the bank, taking on the form of the manager, the woman he murdered. Steph locked down the bank so she could stop him. Clayface morphed into an identical version of Batgirl. Nick Gage showed up and had to decide which to shoot. He chose correctly after the real Batgirl's clever prompt ("Shoot me...I'll bleed."), disarming Clayface. After this, Steph used freezing Batarangs to demobilize the villian him for good. Later, Gage told Steph what Clayface’s motives were. A man named Basil Karlo, before he was Clayface, had a photograph of his late wife in Mrs. Griswald’s safe deposit box, and he needed her clearance to get in and see his wife again, one last time. Steph commented on the absurdity, obviously wounding Gage (“Romantic, but supremely messed up.” “Not as messed up as you think, Batgirl.”) as he walked off down the street, leaving Steph confused and concerned. Stephanie had a good time reuniting with her friend Kara. They saw a 3D Dracula movie at Steph's campus. They both sympathized with Dracula's loneliness, and things took a turn for the worse when science student Newton Flitwik's mistake ended up releasing 24 dangerous solid holographic Dracula's from the film. The two of them ended up chasing down and staking all the Draculas, though they felt sorry for the one that cries about it's loneliness. The two friends promised to be there for each other if either of them ever feels alone. Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham, and went undercover in a supersuit. He "tested" Stephanie, faking a theft and assassination attempt. Steph not only figured out the location of the "assassin" before he could shoot, but figured out that he was up to something by the way he didn't defend himself or his gun and that his assasination attempt was bogus, since someone with superpowers wouldn't even need a special gun, Bruce was highly pleased, and unmasked himself, telling Stephanie she'd done admirably. Absolutely furious to find that Bruce was manipulating her, unneccisarily testing her, and playing with her head once more, just as he had done when she was Robin and Spoiler, Stephanie slapped him across the face. Then she ran away, mortified, yelling back at Bruce that she was glad he was alive. Later, Steph apologized to Bruce about slapping him but said that she needs to get some things off her chest. She told him that this time around, her new life, that it is the first time she’s ever done anything like this for herself (“Being Batgirl is the first time in my life I’m doing things because I want to. Because I think they’re the right thing to do.”) and she told Bruce that she outright refused to give up being Batgirl, no matter what he says. She defended Oracle and told him not to blame her at all. Bruce got close to Steph and asks her if being Batgirl is what she really, truly wants and Steph does. Later that night, Bruce met with Alfred in an alley. Alfred asked Bruce if he will let Steph continue to “do her thing,” to which Bruce said yes but he wantedto keep a watchful eye on both her and Wendy, as they are daughters of criminals. Alfred defended Stephanie and told Bruce blantantly that Steph never really needed to be tested, but Bruce defended his actions, saying that no, he didn’t need to test her, but she needed the test. Alfred also confronted Bruce about Cassandra Cain, the previous Batgirl, andasked him why he hadn't searched for or even asked after her? Bruce stated that he knew exactly where she was, and that Tim Drake has been in contact with her. If anything bad happened to Bruce, Cass knew what to do. Alfred wondered if part of that was giving Steph the cowl and Bruce said, “It’s like I said, Alfred…because Stephanie needed the test….and everyone deserves a second chance.” Only shortly after, Steph works as an agent for Oracle, successfully defeating the Seven Men of Death. along with Birds of Prey members Dove and Hawk and keeping Vicki Vale alive . Stephanie got the blues later on because she couldn't figure out her major. However, she snapped out of it in time to rescue Newton Flitwik from a mysterious robed cabal called the Order of the Scythe. But the untimely arrival of the mentally unstable Johnny C now calling himself the Gray Ghost and detemined to "help" his crush, Batgirl, distracted Steph and allows the Scythe members to get away. The cabal found Newton across campus and murdered him. What's more, they leaft a bloody batarang to frame Steph for the murder. Steph felt responsible for Newton's death, and after convincing her mother she wants to stay in Gotham (realizing she is happy, confident and productive in her new role as Batgirl) Steph went out to answer the Batsignal. Unfortunately, the police awaited, telling her Batgirl is under arrest for Newton's murder! She escaped from the police, and encountered Officer Gage, who gave her the Batarang found at the crime scene. Eventually, Oracle and Proxy tracked down Newton's killers to an abandoned warehouse, and sent footage of the Order of the Scythe chasing Newton to the GCPD. Stephanie fought the Order of the Scythe and cleared her name.